[coolabhi]

Hyundai spares arm Mobis fires 300 for joining union.As a result spare parts dispatches have got disrupted.I just hope that this comes under control soon ,or else Hyundai will suffer like Maruti.

Hyundai's spares business is under sister concern Mobis.
A few weeks ago, almost its entire staff, nearly all of them contract workers, were suspended from service by the management after they joined an AIADMK backed trade union Anna Thozhir Sangam.

With only skeletal operations currently underway with temp staffers, spare parts shipments from Mobis to Hyundai dealers has come down drastically, hitting customers whose cars are stuck for repairs.

Heres the detailed report in economic times :-
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/16445899.cms

[GTO]

Understand these are contract workers, but forming / becoming part of a trade union is a constitutional right of Indian labourers.

Honestly, it's about time Indian car manufacturers leave behind the "permanent contract worker" mindset. It's one thing to hire contract workers for seasonal ups & downs, but entirely another to permanently employ workers as "contract employees" for lower wages & benefits. If this isn't exploitation, I don't know what is. Maruti has learned this lesson the hard way and has announced plans to regularise its contract workers as permanent employees by October 2012.

When two people are doing the exact same work, and one is paid a lower salary & has lesser benefits under the guise of a "contract worker", there will always be labour unrest.

[tsk1979]

Well said. Companies are trying to literally save pennies here by hiring entire workforce as "contract workers". Ideally, its the job of the govt to heavily fine and file a case against such companies.This is purely cheating, and breaking the law of the land.

[coolabhi]

No doubt anyone is free to join any group/political party but in India the problem is that it has always been used for wrong means.Labour unions have hardly been able to do good to the labour situation. Fluctuating demand because of fluctuating fuel price policies has forced companies to have more contract labourers.Cheap labour has been a important factor for MNCs to be in India but increasing labour issues will simply scare them away

[Warhound]

If hiring more permanent workers should be enforced, the task of firing them during low demand should be made simpler as well.

Many companies simply cannot afford to hire many permanent workers because of India's colonial labor laws. Many companies and especially the automobile sector take advantage of this and show helplessness although they arent the ones the laws are designed to protect.

[RS_DEL]

Originally Posted by GTO

Understand these are contract workers, but forming / becoming part of a trade union is a constitutional right of Indian labourers.

salary & has lesser benefits under the guise of a "contract worker", there will always be labour unrest.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Well said. Companies are trying to literally save companies.This is purely cheating, and breaking the law of the land.

It is encouraging to see young well educated businessmen, technocrats appreciate the issue at hand rather than just condemn the less fortunate when they stand up for their rights. I am a business man and realise trade unions are more often than not misused for purposes other than protecting the rights of the workmen. Nevertheless as you guys have pointed out the final word on this , the law allows the workmen to organise and that's where it ends.

Originally Posted by Warhound

If hiring more permanent workers should be automobile sector take advantage of this and show helplessness although they arent the ones the laws are designed to protect.

Yes, the labour laws in India are archaic and need to be amended. However at the end of the day, the law is what stands on the statute book. This is something these corporations need to realise. They are here for commercial considerations and those considerations need to factor in their obligations under the laws of this country, that is if they find this market to be a place where they desire a presence.